"So I met a new Super tonight," I said as casually as I could once I was through the door, shrugging off my hoodie. All of that running had made me hot.

Seb looked at me like I'd sprouted a second head. I supposed that actually wouldn't be all that unusual in our world.

"What?" Was all he could manage.

"Have you heard of or talked to a Super called Enigma?" I picked at my nails, reflecting that a manicure might be nice.

When I looked back at Seb, his brow was furrowed. "Umm ... yeah, I think I might have heard about him joining up. What's he look like?"

"Surprisingly distinct, considering he only wears one colour. All black, with a hood. Black mask, but with these weirdly golden eyes that kind of ... shine and swirl when he looks at you." Seb raised his eyebrow at that last part, and I defended myself. "Okay, you can't not notice them. It's not like that! You know as well as anyone that I'm the last person to get breathless over a Super these days. No, it's that they are actually gold, like liquid metal. It's not exactly a normal eye colour."

Seb laughed. "I didn't say anything! I actually do know who you're talking about, I've seen him at the back of a few meetings and he did have strange eyes. I'll get a better look at him next time. But that's hardly the point here. Why did you meet him?"

I looked at my nails again. "Well, some jerk with a little knife thought he could mug me or assault me, and-"

"Uhh, what?" Seb broke in angrily. "I told you it wasn't safe!"

"If you'll let me finish," I said pointedly. "He thought he could do that, but we both know he stood no chance. He was just a regular, human creep with a weapon he suddenly had no control over." I smirked, thinking of the look on the guy's face when his knife stuck in the air. "Anyway, he startled me at first since I obviously wasn't expecting to turn around and see him standing there, so I screamed. I was handling things, ready to send him out on his criminal ass, but then this Super, Enigma, showed up and knocked him out. He didn't even listen to me at first when I told him I didn't need his help."

"Funny, that. And I bet you said it reeeal nicely," Seb interrupted, grinning despite himself.

Glaring at him, I said, "Well obviously I was pretty fed up with Super stuff for the night, what with Gareth nosing around earlier. So yes, I was ruder than your average Super rescue. But this guy turned out to be cooler than your average Super. Besides you, of course, brother dear," I pinched his cheeks annoyingly. "I dunno though, I think he might actually be in it to save people and look after the city."

"Did he say how he found you?" Seb rubbed his cheeks gingerly.

"You know, I asked that exact question because I was curious about it too. He said he knew that I screamed, and I sounded scared, so he came."

"Huh." He looked thoughtful. "I think I might like to talk to this guy. I also think, from the point of view of another Super, that you were a bit unfair on him. If you don't want anyone to know about your powers, then he's obviously going to think you do need the help to deal with a crazy knife wielding dude. It's not his fault that you're an, ahem, unique situation and have an axe to grind with the Super team."

I knew he was right but I wasn't going to admit that out loud. I settled for a non-committal grumble, and said, "Well you'll be happy to know that I did say thank you in the end, sort of. And I was on much better behaviour later."

He still looked sceptical. "Right. But seriously, Kenna, remember that there might be a Villain out there who can hide what they are from you. And weapons still hurt, even wielded by ordinary humans. It's not always so bad to have backup sometimes."

Standing up, I ruffled his hair and then stretched. "Sound advice, but we'll see if I take it. Anyway, I'm burnt out so I'm going to head to bed. Don't tell the parents about tonight or you'll be the one needing backup, Superkid."

"May I remind you that I'm the older sibling here?" He muttered, smoothing his hair back down.

I scoffed. "Barely. Night, brother dear."

He smiled now. "Night, Kenna. I'm glad you're home safe."

I returned the smile. "Me too."

***

The next morning, I knew immediately it would be a lazy Sunday. When I slouched into the living room in a pair of patterned lounge pants and a t-shirt with my hair piled up in a messy bun, I found four heads already collected on the couch watching sports.

"Morning, Stooges," I greeted, flicking the kettle on to boil with my mind since nobody was watching. I didn't feel at all embarrassed by my super comfy outfit. These guys had seen me looking worse.

"Hey Kenna," Tristan's auburn head twisted to face me. "Missed you yesterday afternoon. I rushed to meet the guys after my work lunch to find that you weren't even there! I had to hang out with the second best Jones instead."

Ah yes, the old Tristan charm that I knew so well, playing a decade old flirting game. Even though I had to resist the urge to scoff, his smile was no less dazzling than ever.

"Ewan, can you slap Tristan for me?" Seb asked, from the other side of the couch.

"Gladly." Ewan reached out a tanned arm and cuffed Tristan without looking away from the TV.

"You're not proving me wrong," Tristan grumbled, rubbing the offended spot.

"Are you guys close to thirty years old, or ... ?" I asked sarcastically, before thinking for a moment and then smiling sweetly at Tristan. "One for me too please, Ewan!" I sang out.

I caught a gleam of amusement in his eyes as he turned to look at me briefly. "As you wish." He smacked poor Tristan once more, and then settled back into the couch, satisfied with his work.

Tristan looked at me with betrayal so plain on his face that I had to laugh.

"Sorry Tris," I padded over with my cup of tea and perched on the arm of the couch next to him, leaning with my elbow on his shoulder. "Flattery will get you nowhere."

"Guess I'll have to try something else, then." He looked up at me through his lashes, grinning.

"UGH," groaned Sebastien loudly from his side. His distaste for Tristan's ultra-smooth ways were no more pronounced than when Tris tried them on me, for obvious reasons.

I flicked Tristan on the forehead, but didn't answer. Sometimes I wondered why he still said the things he did; whether he thought he saw the unfulfilled ghost of the girl whose eyes followed his every move in a room for a year or two of high school somewhere in me. If he did, I was still pretty sure that he was wrong. If she existed, I'd buried her away deep.

Now, I pulled out my phone. "What are you guys up to this afternoon? I was thinking of texting Lexa to come over." Really, I probably should have been writing, but my brain was weary after yesterday, and I knew by now how to work with the ebb and flow of my productivity. Alexis Choi, or Lexa as we called her, was my best friend from school, and it was always fun to have her around.

Ewan looked up first. Today he was wearing a pair of thick-rimmed tortoiseshell glasses which he'd worn on and off since we were teenagers. "Channel 7's got that new Superhero movie that came out a few months ago. We were going to watch that, if you'd like to join?"

I wrinkled my nose. "Why do the movie people think we'd want to watch a made up movie about Supers when we can see them on the news?"

Grant piped in for the first time. "Duh, Kenna, because there are other places besides Sapphire City in this country, and not many of them have Supers. Obviously people are going to be into it. Everyone loves Supers."

"Mhmm," I gritted my teeth. Then, I brightened as a thought occurred to me. "Lexa doesn't! We can 'enjoy' this movie together." A quick text back and forth had her on her way.

My body began to protest at perching on the couch arm, so I scanned the area for a spot to sit. I settled on the emptyish spot closest to Ewan, since he was the most polite, and I didn't want to squish in next to Tristan. I felt no such qualms about cramming myself down against Ewan's side, wriggling so I wedged more space for myself.

"I could sit on the floor, if you like," he offered dryly.

"Nah, I'm just fine here, aren't you fine?" I smiled brightly at him. "Although, actually, you might have to move when Lexa gets here."

Ewan laughed, nudging me gently. "Whatever you say, Kenny Rogers."

"Lexa can sit next to me," Grant joked, waggling his eyebrows.

"I think she'd prefer the floor," I retorted.

"You wound me," he said, clutching his chest dramatically.

"I try," I purred.

"Guys, shh, this is an important penalty kick," Seb interrupted.

"Right, no time for repartee," I joked, unable to resist the final word.

Seconds later, we all cheered as the ball hit the back of the net.

By the time Lexa arrived, the game was just ending, and we were all hyped up on a great win.

"Helloooo people, and also Grant," she sung out, sailing into the apartment. Her long, shiny black hair swished as she turned to close the door behind her, amber eyes sparkling with mischief when she spotted the frown on Grant's face. Basically, everyone enjoyed teasing Grant.

"Already? What did I do this time?" he pouted.

"He was being creepy about you earlier," I offered ruthlessly.

"Okay, then it was that," Lexa grimaced.

"Ewan, can you move so I can reach Kenna?" Grant asked with a sinister look on his face.

Instead, Ewan turned his shoulder so he blocked me further from his malevolent twin. "You deserved it," he said with a wide grin. I stuck my tongue out at Grant from around Ewan, and the latter rolled his eyes, shoving me back into the couch. "Don't push your luck, brat."

"We've all come such a long way from high school, haven't we?" Lexa observed, dropping her bag and making her way towards the couch. I'd joked to Ewan about him needing to move to the floor, but I actually knew exactly where Lexa would choose to sit, and that Grant had no chance. Sure enough, she drifted past me, patting my head affectionately before dropping into the small space next to Seb.

"What's up, Jones Sr?" she asked breezily, in a tone that only I recognised as carefully practised. I suppressed a smirk, having accepted my best friend's huge crush on my brother years ago after a period of baffled revulsion.

"Lexaaaaa," he answered mildly, dragging his eyes away from the screen long enough to give her a quick smile. Somehow, he still didn't seem to have figured it out, and I knew that Lexa would throttle me if I ever gave her up.

Soon the movie preview came on, showing images of Supers fighting and cityscapes getting decimated by huge monsters.

"Woah, spoilers!" Ewan protested jokingly.

"Hey, did you guys hear that the Supers are doing a team public appearance this Friday, and they'll be signing autographs?" Tristan asked.

"Cool! Who wants to go?" Grant piped up.

Lexa scoffed loudly. "Oh boy, wasting my Friday to stand in line so a bunch of Super dorks can strut around and stroke their egos for me? I can't think of a single thing I'd rather do, except literally anything else."

One of Lexa's quirks was that she considered herself all 'counterculture' when it came to Supers, and was outspoken about her distaste for them in a way that I never was, at least not around anyone else. Beside her, I saw Seb's carefully arranged neutral expression, and I was torn between cringing for both of them and finding the constant unintended awkwardness completely hilarious. This was always the struggle for me, since Lexa complained about Supers a lot and no idea that she was insulting the one guy she wanted most to impress.

We were all used to it, anyhow.

"Please Lexa, do tell us more about how you really feel," said Tristan blandly.

"How much time do you have, Tris?" I grinned, winking at Lexa.

"For you?" He trailed off suggestively. Tristan was really laying it on thick today.

"No time guys, movie is starting," Ewan broke in with a finality that shut even Tris up.

Lexa caught my eye and glanced pointedly between Tristan and me with a questioning look. I shrugged, knowing what she asked but not having an answer myself.

Ewan caught the movement, squished up against him as I was, and sent me a questioning look of his own.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"What?" he repeated, the ghost of a smile creeping onto his face.

"What?" I asked again, blinking wide eyes at him.

He broke first. "Weirdo," he laughed.

I shrugged again, "Jones blood runs weird. Right Seb?"

"Don't you lump me in with you."

"Hey, I thought it was quiet movie time now," Grant protested.

I rolled my eyes at Lexa, and she smirked. "Yes coach, sorry coach!" I said brightly, getting a hearty laugh from everyone but Grant.

"Can't wait," Lexa groaned.

Later, during a particularly action-packed scene where the Supers were destroying a city block (as promised in the preview), she couldn't take it anymore. "Look at these idiots; do they not care about anyone's personal property? I swear that Supers are more interested in how 'awesome' they look fighting baddies than in the people they are saving. Is there not a sensible head amongst the lot of them?"

Poor Seb. I stifled a chuckle, but when I saw him stiffen ever so slightly, I took pity on them both. "To be fair, Lex, the Supers here, however lame," I flicked a mischievous look at Seb, unable to help myself, "are generally pretty respectful of the city and people's stuff. Someone among them must have a conscience."

It was actually one of the only things I admired about the Super team - they were scrupulous about causing as little damage as possible in what they did, so it wasn't too hard to stick up for them this time. Beside me, Ewan rumbled a little, and when I looked at him he was laughing. He and the others were pretty used to this kind of discussion about the Supers.

"I guess," Lexa huffed out.

"Look out, I think you two have gone overboard on your praise this time," Tristan said sarcastically.

"SHHHH, I want to watch!" Grant yelled.

That put the end to any more conversation for quite awhile. About three quarters of the way through the movie, I noticed that Seb was looking uncomfortable, an expression I recognised instantly. It wasn't a surprise when his phone buzzed with a text shortly after.

The guys ignored him as he stepped out of the room, but I saw Lexa's eyes track him and was thankful she didn't have the courage to follow him out.

Moments later he reappeared, meeting my glance quickly before assuming a nonchalant air. "Sorry guys, that was my trainer. We'd been trying to get a meeting with some sponsors and apparently they just got in touch with her last minute and said they could only meet today or not for a few weeks. I'll have to head over there now, but obviously you're welcome to hang out here as long as you can stand being around Kenna."

"That's basically an invitation for them to move in here, then," I teased. "Now get on out there, champ!" When I looked at Seb, he knew that what I really wanted to say was, as always, be safe.

Tristan suddenly shot up. "Oh, dammit, that's reminded me that I have tickets for tonight's game with a client. I'll have to go and get ready now; I do not want to stand that guy up."

He looked flushed, and a little agitated, and I was suddenly suspicious. I'd never seen him particularly worked up over any client before, and he was usually really on top of things, all part of his ultra-smooth personality. A voice crept into my head then, part of a recent memory.

I'm pretty new...

No. I pushed it out of my head; it was ridiculous and silly, and so unlikely that I'd know the Super, since Sapphire wasn't that small. But I still couldn't help staring at him a bit dumbly as he rushed to get his things together. Somewhere I heard Ewan and Grant say that they were going to head out too, but I kept watching Tristan. He pecked Lexa and I on the cheek and said goodbye to the others, and then he was gone.

Soon it was just Lexa and I. She grinned at me, grabbing the remote. "Now we can watch something else!"

The Super movie disappeared and was replaced by a fashion reality show, which led to a long conversation about Lexa's work as a junior fashion designer, but she would have been very surprised to know how much I still had Supers on the brain.